Eli: 8/9 Months

Well, Elijah has inevitably turned 9 months. You may have noticed that I skipped his 8 month blog but his little brother/sister has been making me feel quite miserable lately so sleep took priority. Any mom can tell you that if you don't update things right away, the days blend together and you forget what happened when. So although I have 8 month photos, I won't be writing any milestones for 8 months because I can't remember if it happened at 8 or 9 months. Could I also blame that on pregnant brain?? Hey, I am usin' anything I can! So first and foremost, I want to say that the milestones between 8 and 9 months haven't even really been that drastically different. Of course with each day, Elijah grows a little more of a personality and learns little things like pointing and new sounds but honestly, it isn't like the first several months where they learn something HUGE every month. Now, to me, him pulling up and waving is a very big deal but to others, probably not. That being said, here are his 8 month photos in which he was NOT very happy but hey, you gotta take the good with the bad :)

 Not a happy boy!

 His look is so serious!

 With Chico!

 Aaannd, we are back where we started this little photoshoot...

 Helping Daddy fix the house up!

Feeling mighty proud of himself!

As for his 9 month update, there are definitely some new things that our baby boy has learned to do! I can't believe how fast time has gone (and I know I say that every time I update, but it is true!). In 3 months, he will be a year old. WHAT?!?! That is absolute crazy talk. I refuse to believe that. I won't. And I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. So there.

MILESTONES

-At his 9 month appt. he measured in at 30 1/2 inches long (97%) and weighed 22.4 lbs (75-90%). In even simpler terms: BIG BOY.

-He waves! Well, he waves when he wants to. He might just be stubborn like his mommy. eek.

-He points at everything. It is so damn cute!

-He is saying all sorts of sounds now. We get "dada", "dodo", "duhduh", "baba", "buhbuh", "vuhvuh" and occasionally I will get "mama" when he is really POed. But I am still waiting for  true "mama" :(

-Eli is a screamer and squealer and likes to do fake laughs and cries. It is pretty dang adorable.

-He pulls up on EVERYTHING. And he takes walks with his walker toys. He is an official CRUISER!

-He loves to play with my iPhone and he actually likes the baby games. He is starting to touch the screen with a purpose (meaning he knows where to touch to make something happen)!

-We are sippy cup training. And although I should really add this in the 10 month update, tonight he actually drank out of the sippy cup for a few minutes!!! Until now, it has been throwing it, yelling at it, and tipping it over. We are making progress :)

-Eli is able to eat alot of table food now! We still feed him baby food but it is chunkier, thicker, and has alot more ingredients. He has had (table/finger food wise): chicken, pork, breads, pasta, sweet potato "fries", a french fry (that he grabbed from mommy), and all sorts of fruits and veggies. He is so cute eating it all with his chubby little hands!

-He has the pincer grasp down (he has been able to do this for awhile but he is a pro now!)

-Elijah loves to imitate us. He sometimes makes the same faces and sounds we do :)

-He picks the toy he wants out of his basket

THINGS WE HAVE LEARNED

-to wish for a mobile baby is a foolish wish. Once they are mobile, there is absolutely NO. STOPPING. THEM.

-you can never baby proof enough

-the floor can be perfectly clean and Elijah will find something to stick into his mouth

-you can never vacuum enough. EVER.

-owning animals is not as fun after baby. I still love the furry creatures but man, sometimes they are a pain!

-getting pregnant with a 9 month old is not as fun as being pregnant the first time...mainly because there is no down time :/

-I love my family more and more each day.

Do you know what time it is??? PICTURE TIME!!!!!

 Long baby boy!

 With his Chico!

 He loves to pick at Chico's eyes...yikes...

 My happy baby!

Yep. We have learned to do this. Not safe. But cute.

Pregnant!

Well my blog is a little behind. Ok, like a lot behind. But it's been pretty busy around the Saenz household and it got put on the backburner. I still haven't written Elijah's 8 month blog or uploaded his 8 month pictures but it is rough when I feel like puking all the time. I am come up with the solution that I am going to combine his 8 and 9 month blog post. I just couldn't get it up in time and it doesn't look like I am gonna have a whole lot any time soon :)

On March 24th, Carlos and I found out that we were pregnant with our second baby! Before I tested, I knew I was pregnant. I knew pretty much right after it happened (sorry if TMI)...as crazy as that sounds. I even told my good friend Jennifer and Carlos, that I was pregnant. I just had this crazy feeling that it had happened. Now, Carlos and I were not trying per se, but we weren't preventing either. We just put it in God's hands and whatever happened, happened. We feel so absolutely blessed that God is giving us another miracle to bring into this world and raise as our own. It was a little surprising how quickly it happened but God's timing is the best timing.

With Elijah, it took us 7 months of careful planning, timing, stress, and tears. This time, we just relaxed and let it be. Granted, ELijah and baby Omega (Carlos' current name for baby #2) will be close in age. Some people think we are crazy and wonder how the heck we are gonna do it. But I look at it like a great blessing. Elijah and his sibling are going to grow up very close to eachother. My sister and I are 10 months (yep. I promise it can happen) apart and we had such a great childhood together. We figured out that, because of when their birthdays hit, Eli and baby Omega will be 2 years apart in school but will still be able to be in the same building. I never thought I wanted kids this close, but I am so super excited about this! I can't wait to see how these two get along as they get older and what shananigans they get into!

Saying that, it is going to be hectic for awhile. Having a newborn is not easy. Having a newborn with a toddler is going to be downright hard. I am aware of this. I am aware of the lack of sleep I am going to get and lack of time I will be able to give to anything else. After I found out I was pregnant, I had thoughts like "Can I do this? What will this do to the family dynamic we have now? Is Elijah going to be ok?" I was so worried that I was taking something away from Elijah because I all of a sudden had to be selfish again to take care of myself. As time went on, I realized that, yes I can do this. We can do this. We are good parents and we love our babies. ELijah is going to be fine. Will it be different and will he need some extra love and care to get used to the idea? Yes and we can give that to him. Plus Carlos reminds me that at 47 the kids will be 18 and legally adults. Then we can travel! It's a little humor people :) And yes, this is it. We are done. Two children is what we planned on and we feel blessed to have that many. I can't imagine being pregnant with TWO kids. Being pregnant with one is hard enough!

So, as of now I am 8 weeks pregnant. I am already showing...way faster than when I pregnant with Eli. This does worry me a little. I wish my body didn't have to change so drastically but I remind myself that something so beautiful comes out of it and I calm down a bit. I am constantly nauseated which is not easy with a 9 month old baby. But my husband truly is amazing. He is carrying most of the weight around the household and has really stepped up to make sure I get the rest I need. I feel guilty because he is exhausted to but there are nights I just physically cannot get up to make dinner or put Eli to bed or wash bottles. Slowly, my body is getting used to this sickness thing and if I eat small things every hour or so, I can keep the vomiting under control. But if I let my blood sugar get to low, I am in trouble.

We heard the baby's heartbeat and it came in at 141 bpm. We saw the cutie pie and apparently my uterus is tilted upwards after having Eli and so it was a little difficult to get a good picture but baby Omega is healthy and growing! We were so thrilled to see our baby and can't wait to go through all the exciting next months with our little miracle. I can't wait to involve Elijah too. He is going to be such a great big brother...he loves being around other kids already (and seriously...they can be babies or 9 years old and he wants to "play"). All in all, we are blessed and we thank all our family and friends for supporting us and being so excited for the next step in our journey! Moving and getting a new job and being pregnant while being a mommy and good wife is going to be a challenge, but I pray on it every night and ask for strength. I could use prayers from ya'll as well...I am pretty sure I am gonna hit days where I feel very defeated and I will need the love :) And here...are some gems of the day we showed Eli his little brother or sister for the first time:

 Oh, what's this...?

 "Elijah this is your baby brother or sister!" Cue tears.

 We are not very happy about this. 

(Really, he was just VERY tired. Not a great time to get him to sit still and hold a picture.)

 Now we are really upset. Poor little guy.

 "But mommy...why?!?!" :)

 Ok, I guess I love him/her. I get to be a BIG brother!!!

Or I could just eat the picture.

Spring Break 2012

So I am currently behind on 3 posts. I am crazy and I start on different ones, save them as drafts, and wait to publish until I feel it is "publishable". It is the OCD coming out a little bit but it also saves me time in the long run (although it just sounds alot more complicated. And heck, who knows, maybe it is and my brain is just working too hard. Either way, it works). I hate being behind on posts and it actually bugs me and always finds it's way onto my To Do list. But with working, mommy-ing, wife-ing, and other things, I am plain exhausted and even forgetful. But alas, here is a little bit of our Spring Break trip to Arizona and a short rundown of what went on.

We got there March 8th at night and about an hour before we landed, Vanessa had baby Charlie. I really think her and I are destined to be a part of each others lives for always. If you know Ness and I, you kinda know what I mean. An example of this is is when she had her baby. Ness was told she would have her baby early which meant she was supposed to have baby girl at least a week before I got there. I remember thinking "I won't get to see her in the hospital when Charlie is first born" and I was kind of bummed that she could be over a week or so old by the time I met her (here I am making it all about me haha)! Everyday, I asked Ness how she was, if she felt any different, etc. Usually it was "No." or " She is being stubborn like her daddy" (sorry Zeke). Finally she went into labor and had Charlie RIGHT before we landed in Phoenix. I mean, how cool is that?? I got to go visit in the following days and it was so awesome!!! Charlie Rose is a beautiful little baby and she sure is loved! Even all the way out here in Texas!

 Us. Just being typical us. Loved this moment!!!

 Beautiful girl!

SO if that wasn't enough to start off a great trip, I had an interview at the school where Ness teaches and it went awesomely. Not to toot my horn but they were impressed with the level of knowledge I had regarding data driven instruction. And I am not talking just standardized testing data....I am talking data we use through interventions, computer programs, running records, etc. in first grade. I guess Texas is a little ahead of the curve in some educational ideologies and methods (which I was actually shocked to hear) and so it was neat to have an interview where it just ended up being a conversation about how each state did things differently. I did get the job, in second grade with Ness (I mean, what are the odds?), but I didn't know until we were well back home. I can't wait to update more on this later!

We spent most of the trip with Carlos working with my dad, learning the in's and the out's of his business, meeting clients, and talking with real estate agents. I spent the days with Elijah, my sister, Tristan, and my mom either at the pool, going to lunch, or shopping here and there. My brother Jason and sis Jody and my other two nephews, Zack and Hayden, even came down to join in on the fun! It was so amazing to get to spend time with our family and just relax. We also hung out with other friends and went downtown one night to a really neat bar called The Duece which reminded me ALOT of Austin. We hung out with the Daniels family and met Hunter, the newest addition and he is ADORABLE. It was just like old times :)

 Look at us! So grown up and even though so much has changed, so much is still so very much the same!

 Hanging out with Hayden. Oh Hayden...dear Hayden...:)

Zacky and Tristan being goofy. I love my nephews So. FREAKING. Much.

I do have to say, it is crazy how different it feels to be back in my hometown. I feel like I left there so long ago and so much as changed. We looked at different areas to live and different neighborhoods and I am not very familiar with alot of it anymore. It is going to be a great change in our lives but it will definitely take some adjusting. Anyways, here are some pictures...enjoy!

 Me, Eli, and Zack just hanging out :)

 Grandma Bernard with all her grandsons!

 I just love this one of Daddy and son :)

 He was so happy here! Future pro golfer perhaps??

 Mommy and her angel :)

 Uncle Jason and Aunt Jody!!!

 What a doll. Just golfing in the park on a beautiful Arizona spring day!

 Attacking daddy on the playground

 First time on a slide and of course, he loved it! Such a little adventurer ;)

 Me and my sis!

 This is how we spent a few of our days together...I miss being able to go to a pool whenever I want :(

 First time underwater...his face says it all!

 He ABSOLUTELY loved the pool. I can't wait until this summer to go all the time with him!

 Goofing around!

 Splashing...

 Loving on daddy and vis versa

 Oh and mommy and daddy gotta get a little kiss in there too...:)

 He loved to be tossed into the air and splash back down into the water. What a little man he is!!!

 Naked butt at the pool!!!

Nakey boy with daddy. Love this picture.